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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/mammals/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2026 10:13:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Mammals</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/mammals/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Indonesian company seeks CITES approval to breed and sell rare Asian golden cats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/indonesian-company-seeks-cites-approval-to-breed-and-sell-rare-asian-golden-cats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/indonesian-company-seeks-cites-approval-to-breed-and-sell-rare-asian-golden-cats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Nov 2026 14:03:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda WenzelSpoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/05121758/1.-Allwetter-Zoo_banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=335038</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Captive Breeding, Cats, Conservation, Controversial, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, Mammals, Pet Trade, Pets, Wildlife, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With their shiny golden or reddish-brown fur, round ears, and white and black facial markings, Asian golden cats are cute. But don’t let their looks fool you: these cats, native to China and South and Southeast Asia, are fiercely territorial, elusive, and highly solitary animals. Because of this, Asian golden cats (Catopuma temminckii) don’t reproduce [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With their shiny golden or reddish-brown fur, round ears, and white and black facial markings, Asian golden cats are cute. But don’t let their looks fool you: these cats, native to China and South and Southeast Asia, are fiercely territorial, elusive, and highly solitary animals. Because of this, Asian golden cats (Catopuma temminckii) don’t reproduce well in captivity, and only a handful of zoos have bred them successfully, always for conservation purposes. Now, a private Indonesian company, PT Alam Nusantara Jayatama, wants to become the first in the world to commercially breed them in captivity, selling their offspring to exotic pet owners across the globe. The company is owned and run by Danny Gunalen, who owns several zoos and animal-breeding facilities in Indonesia. The Indonesian government plans to certify the facility as a legal breeder of Asian golden cats. In August, it sent a public notification to the Secretariat of CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty, which includes 184 nations and the European Union. The signatories to CITES have until Nov. 10, 2026, to object to the registration, otherwise the company will be authorized to export the cats. Only a handful of zoos around the world breed and display Asian golden cats. Image courtesy of @Zoo Heidelberg. The Asian golden cat is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List and is a protected species in most of the countries where it lives. Only about 7,000 are thought to remain in the wild, their numbers decreasing as forests&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/indonesian-company-seeks-cites-approval-to-breed-and-sell-rare-asian-golden-cats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-335038</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ecotourism may deter hunters, but also keeps wildlife away, Laos study suggests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2026 14:32:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/11/02142348/Asian_Black_Bear_cubs_Ursus_thibetanus_in_Khao_Yai_national_park_24405284880-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334667</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Camera Trapping, Conservation, Ecosystems, Ecotourism, Environment, Forests, Governance, Hunting, Mammals, Monitoring, Over-hunting, Rainforests, Research, Tourism, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Clouded leopards, sun bears, and other medium to large mammals living in a protected but intensively hunted landscape in northern Laos might be selecting their forest hangouts based on the chatter of hikers and splashes of kayakers, according to new research. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, used camera-trap data from between 2013 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Clouded leopards, sun bears, and other medium to large mammals living in a protected but intensively hunted landscape in northern Laos might be selecting their forest hangouts based on the chatter of hikers and splashes of kayakers, according to new research. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, used camera-trap data from between 2013 and 2019 to investigate whether an award-winning community-based ecotourism initiative that has operated tours in Nam Ha National Protected Area since 1999 brings any benefits to local wildlife populations by creating a safe haven from hunting pressure. “Hunting is a really integral part of the local culture, some of it legal, some of it illegal,” William Bleisch, lead author of the study and former program director at the Hong Kong-based China Exploration and Research Society, told Mongabay in an interview. Bleisch said he and his colleagues were curious to find out whether tourism created “a kind of refuge” where people would forgo hunting either because they could see the economic and social benefits of wildlife tourism or because they were afraid of being reported by guides or tourists. To test their theory, the team set up camera traps at 59 sites across the landscape, both within tourism hotspots and at more remote locations in the forest reserve. They recorded a total 45 species of medium to large mammals across the whole landscape, including 15 globally threatened species. They found an average 4.58 species at sites close to trekking trails and kayaking routes, and almost twice&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/ecotourism-may-deter-hunters-but-also-keeps-wildlife-away-laos-study-suggests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334667</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Given a chance, women-led microenterprises uplift Nepali communities &#038; conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 18:02:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Emma White]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30164427/Spinning-Wool2_NadiaWhite_19May2026-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334507</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Forest Products, Forestry, Forests, Gender, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Plants, Tigers, Traditional Knowledge, Trees, Wildlife, and Women In Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAYA PADAMPUR, Nepal — A spinning wheel whirs on a rooftop in Naya Padampur in south-central Nepal, sending ivory strands of yarn through Bin Maya Gurung’s practiced fingers. Smile lines crinkle at the corners of her eyes as she works. Her limbs move in synchrony with the wheel, both integral parts of the machine that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAYA PADAMPUR, Nepal — A spinning wheel whirs on a rooftop in Naya Padampur in south-central Nepal, sending ivory strands of yarn through Bin Maya Gurung’s practiced fingers. Smile lines crinkle at the corners of her eyes as she works. Her limbs move in synchrony with the wheel, both integral parts of the machine that ensures her family’s well-being. She’s sitting at the top of a building that houses a wool spinning enterprise, which has blossomed in the years since she learned to spin wool in the early 2000s. It’s one of many women-led microenterprises that have sprouted across the country. The past few decades have seen many women in rural Nepal venture into the business environment for the first time, as governmental regulations and societal norms started to shift. The benefits for women entrepreneurs are significant, with a 2022 study conducted in the Parbat district of Nepal showing that 96% of women involved in microenterprises felt confident in supporting their families with the money they earned. The microenterprises are also important in another way: They provide an alternative source of income to rural families, lessening their reliance on forest products such as timber. Successful women-led microenterprises — in Nepal and elsewhere — have provided a symbiosis between land and community, allowing conservation efforts to flourish while acting as a catalyst for local income generation and women’s empowerment. The growth of these microenterprises in Nepal mirrors a growing global recognition of the benefits of women’s involvement in both forests and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/given-a-chance-women-led-microenterprises-uplift-nepali-communities-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334507</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After Botswana, Nepal tries artificial scent marking to fend big cats off villages</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/after-botswana-nepal-tries-artificial-scent-marking-to-fend-big-cats-off-villages/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/after-botswana-nepal-tries-artificial-scent-marking-to-fend-big-cats-off-villages/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 14:45:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Deepak Adhikari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30131038/leopard-nepal-zoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334483</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Botswana, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Biology, Buffer Zones, Cats, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Leopards, low-tech, Mammals, Predators, Research, Science, Snow Leopards, Technology, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — In March 2025, a tiger followed a forest trail through Nepal’s Khata Corridor until it reached a small iron stake next to the path. Attached to it was a dispenser releasing a laboratory-made version of a chemical found in the scent markings big cats use to mark their territory and communicate with other [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — In March 2025, a tiger followed a forest trail through Nepal’s Khata Corridor until it reached a small iron stake next to the path. Attached to it was a dispenser releasing a laboratory-made version of a chemical found in the scent markings big cats use to mark their territory and communicate with other cats. A camera trap recorded the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) approaching the station. The curious cat investigated the smell and then stopped, one of multiple instances of tigers and leopards coming up to these scent stations and then turning back the way they came. These encounters offer an early glimpse into an international experiment seeking to harness big cats’ territorial instinct in order to keep them away from livestock, farms and human settlements. But researchers caution that a tiger turning away from an experimental station is not yet solid evidence that the method can prevent livestock attacks. “It’s a long way from proving that — and we don’t claim otherwise,” said Martin Gilbert, a wildlife veterinarian, epidemiologist and associate professor at Cornell University in the U.S. who helped bring the research to Nepal. “At this stage, we’re asking a more fundamental question: Can these compounds reliably alter a predator’s behavior?” A woman with her goats in the buffer area in Bardiya. Image by Tulsi Rauniyar for Mongabay. Across Nepal’s buffer-zone settlements, encounters with tigers, leopards and snow leopards have led communities to use electric fences, flashing lights and other deterrents to protect livestock and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/after-botswana-nepal-tries-artificial-scent-marking-to-fend-big-cats-off-villages/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/after-botswana-nepal-tries-artificial-scent-marking-to-fend-big-cats-off-villages/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334483</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Angola designates Serra do Pingano as a protected area amid rapid forest loss</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/angola-designates-serra-do-pingano-as-a-protected-area-amid-rapid-forest-loss/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/angola-designates-serra-do-pingano-as-a-protected-area-amid-rapid-forest-loss/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2026 13:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Tjyakala]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/30131118/i.-Serra-do-Pingano_Angola_logged1_c_Raffael-Ernst_SGN-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334509</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Deforestation, Dry Forests, Elephants, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Primary Forests, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The last large tracts of forest in Serra do Pingano, in northern Angola, are disappearing rapidly, leaving the landscape increasingly bare. Over the past two decades, central Serra do Pingano lost 43% of its original forest cover, while the wider Serra do Pingano Forest Ecosystem (SPFE) lost 21%, equivalent to 536 square kilometers (207 square [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The last large tracts of forest in Serra do Pingano, in northern Angola, are disappearing rapidly, leaving the landscape increasingly bare. Over the past two decades, central Serra do Pingano lost 43% of its original forest cover, while the wider Serra do Pingano Forest Ecosystem (SPFE) lost 21%, equivalent to 536 square kilometers (207 square miles) of forest. The findings appeared in Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution earlier this year. Two of the paper&#8217;s authors are Angolan. Signed by 11 researchers from multiple institutions, the study serves both as an urgent warning and as a call to action to protect what remains of the vanishing forest. After years of appeals, the Angolan government established the Serra do Pingano Conservation Area in April. Located in Uíge province, the SPFE encompasses several densely forested mountain ranges of high biological value. Pingano forms an ecological transition zone between tropical rainforest and miombo savanna, bringing together elements of western Central African forests and species and evolutionary lineages associated with southern and eastern Africa. It also shelters some of Angola&#8217;s last remaining tropical forest south of the Congo River. The Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution study brings together evidence from years of research into the SPFE. One of its co-authors spoke with Mongabay. Thea Lautenschläger, a German ethnobotanist specializing in northern Angola and scientific director of the Botanical Garden of Hamburg, described the threats facing the forest and the species that depend on it. “It is difficult to say to what extent our work directly influenced the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/angola-designates-serra-do-pingano-as-a-protected-area-amid-rapid-forest-loss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334509</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Between revered and hunted: The journey of human-otter coexistence in the Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/between-revered-and-hunted-the-journey-of-human-otter-coexistence-in-the-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/between-revered-and-hunted-the-journey-of-human-otter-coexistence-in-the-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2026 16:21:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarah Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/29131318/pteronura-brasiliensis-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334366</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Food, food security, Freshwater, Human-wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional People, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a warm, humid morning, along the Içana River in Brazil’s upper Rio Negro Basin, researchers saw a group of Baniwa men heading to the river to check the fishing traps they left in shallow, fast-moving waters. Slightly further downstream, a group of giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) was also hunting. They stayed in the water [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a warm, humid morning, along the Içana River in Brazil’s upper Rio Negro Basin, researchers saw a group of Baniwa men heading to the river to check the fishing traps they left in shallow, fast-moving waters. Slightly further downstream, a group of giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) was also hunting. They stayed in the water by the riverbank, their heads popping through the surface and dipping back down like a wild version of the arcade game Whack-A-Mole. One resurfaced with a striped fish held between its front paws before it climbed onto the bank to eat. The sound of it eating carried across the water; sharp cracks as it worked through the bones and wet chomps as it tore through scales and flesh. The otters’ feeding site along the bank was littered with fish bones and reeked of feces. “They&#8217;re almost impossible to ignore,” Jansen Zuanon, ecologist and fish specialist who contributed to a 2026 study about Baniwa people and otters, told Mongabay. Giant otters tend to live in groups of between nine and 12 family members. Image by Allan Hopkins via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). The Içana flows into the Rio Negro, a major tributary in the Amazon with dark, tea-colored, naturally acidic water. Its rivers and tributaries are home to diverse fish species — though they are not especially abundant. For the Indigenous Baniwa people, who live along the Içana’s banks and tributaries in northwestern Brazil near the Colombian border, fishing is an essential source of protein. But&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/between-revered-and-hunted-the-journey-of-human-otter-coexistence-in-the-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334366</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Action on the ground’ in Laos is needed to recover large mammals, protect more species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/action-on-the-ground-in-laos-is-needed-to-recover-large-mammals-protect-more-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/action-on-the-ground-in-laos-is-needed-to-recover-large-mammals-protect-more-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2026 02:05:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/28181937/40996036275_d596751668_k-e1793211752183-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334256</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cattle, Conservation, Elephants, Environment, Forests, Mammals, Megafauna, Research, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Less than half a century ago, the thickly forested landscapes of Laos rumbled with herds of Asian elephants as well as two species of rhinoceros — the Javan rhino and Sumatran rhino. Wild water buffalo and the now-globally-extinct kouprey cattle wallowed in more open habitats that were also stalked by Indochinese tigers. However, decades of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Less than half a century ago, the thickly forested landscapes of Laos rumbled with herds of Asian elephants as well as two species of rhinoceros — the Javan rhino and Sumatran rhino. Wild water buffalo and the now-globally-extinct kouprey cattle wallowed in more open habitats that were also stalked by Indochinese tigers. However, decades of habitat loss, infrastructure expansion and hunting for food and the illegal wildlife trade have diminished this impressive assemblage of some of the world’s largest mammals. Today, only the elephants remain. A new study in Global Ecology and Conservation that examined the historic losses, current status and recovery prospects of large mammal megafauna in Laos, suggests that the disappearance of these species could have been avoided if stronger conservation, monitoring and protection plans had been in place. “These trajectories were not necessarily inevitable,” the study, which analyzed historical species records and survey data dating back to 1850 alongside information on threats and conservation policies, says. “Delayed recognition and response, insufficient control of hunting, and limited enforcement capacity likely contributed to these declines.” The loss of so many key large predators and herbivores, along with their ecological functions, occurred despite Laos retaining relatively extensive forest cover compared to other countries in mainland Southeast Asia, the study notes. Laos’s “empty forests” might at first glance seem intact and structurally diverse, yet they often lack key large animals that should inhabit them. “Laos still has high forest cover and a large protected area network. The task now is to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/action-on-the-ground-in-laos-is-needed-to-recover-large-mammals-protect-more-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/action-on-the-ground-in-laos-is-needed-to-recover-large-mammals-protect-more-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334256</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Historic win’: Australian state approves national koala park despite controversial funding</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/historic-win-australian-state-approves-national-koala-park-despite-controversial-funding/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/historic-win-australian-state-approves-national-koala-park-despite-controversial-funding/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2026 01:28:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Paul Harvey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/28133825/kenny-van-roosbroek-CG2AtzDOLFg-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334201</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Controversial, Environment, Environmental Law, Finance, Funding, Governance, Mammals, Marsupials, National Parks, Parks, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SYDNEY — After more than a decade of campaigning, Australian conservation and community groups celebrated a historic win on Oct. 23 after legislation was passed to create the Great Koala National Park in New South Wales (NSW). The campaigners’ success came 10 days after NSW Premier and Labor politician Chris Minns tabled a bill proposing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SYDNEY — After more than a decade of campaigning, Australian conservation and community groups celebrated a historic win on Oct. 23 after legislation was passed to create the Great Koala National Park in New South Wales (NSW). The campaigners’ success came 10 days after NSW Premier and Labor politician Chris Minns tabled a bill proposing the creation of the park in the Mid North Coast region of the state. The park was a key 2023 election promise made by Australia’s Labor Party. “This park will protect our precious Australian wildlife and boost tourism for the region for generations,” Minns wrote on Facebook after the result of the vote. The park, slated to open before the end of 2026, will incorporate 178,000 hectares (440,000 acres) of state forests, primarily earmarked for native timber harvesting, and other government land into the existing national park estate. It will create a protected area spanning 475,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) for 12,000 koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) and more than 100 other threatened fauna and flora species, including southern greater gliders (Petauroides volans), glossy black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami) and rare spider orchids. The park, slated to open before the end of 2026, will incorporate 178,000 hectares (440,000 acres) of state forests. Image courtesy of NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti people, who have helped shape the national park, “will continue to guide its management,” according to the NSW government. “Eight Aboriginal rangers will be employed through community-controlled organisations and some park roles will&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/historic-win-australian-state-approves-national-koala-park-despite-controversial-funding/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334201</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pangolin scale lawsuit in Indonesia could shake up how wildlife traffickers pay</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/pangolin-scale-lawsuit-in-indonesia-could-shake-up-how-wildlife-traffickers-pay/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/pangolin-scale-lawsuit-in-indonesia-could-shake-up-how-wildlife-traffickers-pay/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Oct 2026 07:53:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/28073343/a.-%C2%A9-thepunggolin-original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334087</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Conservation, Corporations, Crime, Environment, Governance, Illegal Trade, Organized Crime, Pangolins, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When customs officials at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port opened a shipping container flagged for inspection in February 2026, they expected to find sea cucumbers and instant noodles as indicated on the consignment paperwork. Instead, they found 3,053 kilograms (6,730 pounds) of dried pangolin scales destined for Cambodia. It was among Indonesia’s largest seizures of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When customs officials at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port opened a shipping container flagged for inspection in February 2026, they expected to find sea cucumbers and instant noodles as indicated on the consignment paperwork. Instead, they found 3,053 kilograms (6,730 pounds) of dried pangolin scales destined for Cambodia. It was among Indonesia’s largest seizures of the illegal commodity in recent years, sparking an unusual lawsuit against the alleged offenders that experts say could be an innovative way to hold wildlife traffickers accountable for the damage they inflict upon ecosystems and biodiversity. As in many other countries, Indonesia primarily uses criminal laws to prosecute wildlife crimes, an approach that has historically resulted in relatively short prison sentences and fines that rarely approach maximum statutory penalties. However, Indonesian conservation NGO Science for Endangered and Trafficked Species (SCENTS) Foundation is taking a different approach. In parallel to the state-led criminal prosecution, the NGO has raised a civil lawsuit demanding the alleged traffickers pay to repair the ecological harm caused by removing thousands of pangolins from their wild habitats. “What was lost in this case was not merely three tonnes of scales,” Ma’ruf Erawan, director of SCENTS Foundation, said. “Behind those scales were thousands of pangolins removed from the wild, together with ecological functions and the values we all hold for Indonesian nature. The offenders must be held accountable for all the harm they caused.” The organization, represented legally by Jakarta-based law firm NET Attorney, filed the civil lawsuit on Sept. 2 at the East&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/pangolin-scale-lawsuit-in-indonesia-could-shake-up-how-wildlife-traffickers-pay/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334087</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Philippine lawyer who beat an oil giant: Rose Liza Eisma-Osorio on defending Tañon Strait</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-philippine-lawyer-who-beat-an-oil-giant-rose-liza-eisma-osorio-on-defending-tanon-strait/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-philippine-lawyer-who-beat-an-oil-giant-rose-liza-eisma-osorio-on-defending-tanon-strait/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Oct 2026 14:15:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maverick Avila]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/27140336/A-turtle-at-the-Tanon-Strait.-Photo-Courtesy-of-Tanon-Strait-Philippines-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=334013</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fellows, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Media, and Oil]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CEBU CITY, Philippines — At a coffee meeting in 2007, Philippine environmental lawyer Rose Liza Eisma-Osorio and four other law professors in Cebu City sat laughing at an idea: representing marine mammals in court. Despite their laughter, they were dead serious about their goal: Stop the oil exploration led by Japan Petroleum Exploration (JAPEX) in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CEBU CITY, Philippines — At a coffee meeting in 2007, Philippine environmental lawyer Rose Liza Eisma-Osorio and four other law professors in Cebu City sat laughing at an idea: representing marine mammals in court. Despite their laughter, they were dead serious about their goal: Stop the oil exploration led by Japan Petroleum Exploration (JAPEX) in Tañon Strait. The protected seascape between the islands of Cebu and Negros in the central Philippines is home to 14 whale and dolphin species, as well as coral reefs and mangrove forests, according to advocacy group Oceana. In 2007, the Japanese energy company performed seismic surveys and drilled an exploration well in the strait, driving away cetaceans. It was an ambitious plan, as animals had never been named as petitioners. Eisma-Osorio and fellow lawyer Gloria “Golly” Estenzo Ramos filed the first petition representing the resident marine mammals in December 2007. Their colleagues filed a second petition on behalf of the fishing communities who had been directly affected by the exploration activities. The case, Resident Marine Mammals of the Protected Seascape Tañon Strait v. Secretary Angelo Reyes, went on for several years. In April 2015, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled to void the contract that allowed the exploration, development and exploitation of petroleum resources within the Tañon Strait. Eisma-Osorio joined Oceana Philippines as a consultant in 2015, a year after the NGO was established. At 56, she now leads the campaign and legal departments as senior director of Oceana Philippines. On Oct. 24, 2025, a major&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/the-philippine-lawyer-who-beat-an-oil-giant-rose-liza-eisma-osorio-on-defending-tanon-strait/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-334013</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sri Lanka mourns iconic tusker amid renewed calls to address human-elephant conflict</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-mourns-iconic-tusker-amid-renewed-calls-to-address-human-elephant-conflict/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-mourns-iconic-tusker-amid-renewed-calls-to-address-human-elephant-conflict/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Oct 2026 14:59:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/24140644/3-Sri-Lanka-Tusker-death-Kavantissa-c-Sahan-GUnarathne-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333803</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Controversial, Development, Elephants, Encroachment, Endangered Species, Environment, Ex-situ Conservation, Extinction, Fences, Forest Destruction, Fragmentation, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Ivory, Land Use Change, Mammals, National Parks, Protected Areas, Protests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO – The death of Kavantissa, one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic wild tuskers (Elephas maximus maximus), following a gunshot injury triggered an extraordinary wave of public grief, political attention and criticism of wildlife authorities.The elephant’s final days brought together politicians, Buddhist monks, wildlife enthusiasts and veterinarians in a collective effort to save a giant [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO – The death of Kavantissa, one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic wild tuskers (Elephas maximus maximus), following a gunshot injury triggered an extraordinary wave of public grief, political attention and criticism of wildlife authorities.The elephant’s final days brought together politicians, Buddhist monks, wildlife enthusiasts and veterinarians in a collective effort to save a giant that had captured the hearts of many Sri Lankans. A photograph of Sri Lanka’s opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, an ardent elephant enthusiast kissing the elephant’s head went viral on social media as did the environment minister Dhammika Patabendi visiting the elephant amidst heavy rain. Buddhist monks chanted Pirith (traditional Buddhist verses to invoke blessings), while a prominent businessman Dudley Sirisena offered to fund treatment, including a foreign veterinary team being flown in. Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was among those who paid tribute to the magnificent tusker as well. Kavantissa’s death sparked widespread public attention as shown in this Google Trends results, showing heightened interest among Sri Lankans searching the term ‘Kavantissa’ since the day the elephant’s critical condition became public knowledge. Graph via Google Trends. Despite the intensive efforts of wildlife veterinarians, Kavantissa suffered cardiac arrest on the evening of Oct. 16. Senior wildlife veterinary surgeons were present, and one reportedly climbed onto his chest in an attempt to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Their efforts failed, and the tusker died at around 6:18 p.m. His death was followed by an outpouring of grief and anger, with many demanding accountability from the Department of Wildlife Conservation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-mourns-iconic-tusker-amid-renewed-calls-to-address-human-elephant-conflict/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333803</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World Kangaroo Day: How climate change impacts Australia’s macropods</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/world-kangaroo-day-how-climate-change-impacts-australias-macropods/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/world-kangaroo-day-how-climate-change-impacts-australias-macropods/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Oct 2026 01:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Cooper Williams]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/22124702/14582525532_c6239de35c_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333569</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecosystems, El Nino, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Extreme Weather, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Impact Of Climate Change, Mammals, Marsupials, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CANBERRA — World Kangaroo Day, on Oct. 24, celebrates one of Australia’s national symbols and the macropod’s special place in the country’s environment and First Nations cultures. In 2026, as “super El Niño” wreaks havoc across the globe, it is an opportune time to reflect on how climate change has affected the country’s iconic animals. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CANBERRA — World Kangaroo Day, on Oct. 24, celebrates one of Australia’s national symbols and the macropod’s special place in the country’s environment and First Nations cultures. In 2026, as “super El Niño” wreaks havoc across the globe, it is an opportune time to reflect on how climate change has affected the country’s iconic animals. There are dozens of species — 59 to be exact — belonging to the macropodoidea (meaning large-footed) superfamily living in Australia. The four main species are the red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), which is the largest in size; the western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus); the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus); the antilopine kangaroo (Osphranter antilopinus). These kangaroo species are abundant in Australia, with a total population estimated to range between 30 million and 50 million, depending on drought and rainfall cycles. Their numbers have been considered so high that state-level governments have introduced controversial cull programs to reduce populations. Lesser-known varieties include the smallest macropod species in the world: the musky rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus), typically weighing around just 500 grams (1.1 pounds); the critically endangered Gilbert’s poteroo (Potorous gilbertii); and Australia’s only two species of tree-kangaroo, the Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) and the Bennett’s tree-kangaroo (D. bennettianus), which live in the forests of Far North Queensland. For the smaller species of kangaroo and wallaby, quokka, bettong and potoroo, which also belong to the macropod superfamily, the situation is dire. Six species of kangaroo have already gone extinct since the colonization of Australia, and 11 of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/world-kangaroo-day-how-climate-change-impacts-australias-macropods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333569</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Death of iconic elephant in Sri Lanka pushes authorities to fast-track protection efforts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/death-of-iconic-elephant-in-sri-lanka-pushes-authorities-to-fast-track-protection-efforts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/death-of-iconic-elephant-in-sri-lanka-pushes-authorities-to-fast-track-protection-efforts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2026 15:37:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/23151741/IMG_4528-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333688</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animal Rights, Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Charismatic Animals, Conflict, Ecology, Ecotourism, Elephants, Encroachment, Endangered Species, Environmental Policy, flagship species, Forest Destruction, Habitat Degradation, Human-wildlife Conflict, Ivory, Land Use Change, Mammals, Megafauna, National Parks, Poisoning, Regulations, Snares, Species, Threatened species, Tourism, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[GALGAMUWA, Sri Lanka – Residents in Galgamuwa, a rural village in Sri Lanka’s North Western Province are mourning the death of an iconic wild, bull elephant that roamed the area. While Galgamuwa is on the frontlines of one of Sri Lanka’s worst human-elephant conflicts, people had a soft spot for this tusker, popularly known as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[GALGAMUWA, Sri Lanka – Residents in Galgamuwa, a rural village in Sri Lanka’s North Western Province are mourning the death of an iconic wild, bull elephant that roamed the area. While Galgamuwa is on the frontlines of one of Sri Lanka’s worst human-elephant conflicts, people had a soft spot for this tusker, popularly known as Kavantissa. Named after a king who ruled the Kingdom of Ruhuna in ancient Sri Lanka in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C.E, Kavantissa was known for its gentle nature. Galgamuwa residents say it never attacked a human in its lifetime. Rathnayake Mudiyanselage Jayathilaka Bandara is a resident in Galgamuwa and an ardent animal lover. Bandara and another local resident named Kumara dedicated their time and effort to protect Kavantissa and the large herd of elephants (Elephas maximus maximus) that became famous for crossing the railway tracks in Kasikote, a town located between Galgamuwa and Ambanpola in the north west. Soon, this crossing became a must see among elephant lovers and Kavantissa would often emerge at the tail end. Bandara tells Mongabay that the demise of Kavantissa is heartbreaking because the iconic tusker was gentle and disciplined. He recalls how Kavantissa would patiently wait for the herd of elephants to cross the railway line before it made its dramatic appearance. “Sometimes it would pause before crossing the road and journey toward the nearby Palukadawala tank,” he said. “Perhaps that was its way of greeting me and Kumara. Kavantissa would sometimes push the electric fence obstructing its&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/death-of-iconic-elephant-in-sri-lanka-pushes-authorities-to-fast-track-protection-efforts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333688</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scorched sanctuaries: The race to save Borneo’s orangutans from fires</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/scorched-sanctuaries-the-race-to-save-borneos-orangutans-from-fires/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/scorched-sanctuaries-the-race-to-save-borneos-orangutans-from-fires/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2026 23:08:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Garry Lotulung]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/22223758/55-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333592</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Disasters, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forest Loss, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Great Apes, Habitat Loss, Mammals, Orangutans, Peatlands, Primates, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Thick smog covers the forest canopy in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, dimming the sun. On the front lines, forest and land fires are not just destroying habitats; they are pushing local primates close to extinction. In the middle of this crisis, Veterinarian Komara and the Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI) team stay alert. Between Aug. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Thick smog covers the forest canopy in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, dimming the sun. On the front lines, forest and land fires are not just destroying habitats; they are pushing local primates close to extinction. In the middle of this crisis, Veterinarian Komara and the Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI) team stay alert. Between Aug. 1 and Oct. 21, 2026, 53 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were rescued from fires through joint emergency operations by the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and YIARI. Veterinarian Komara, right, from Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI), along with other veterinarians, treats a female orangutan and her baby after being rescued from a burned forest and peatland area in Pelang village, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Sept. 18, 2026. Bornean orangutans are one of three orangutan species in the world, and the only one found on the island of Borneo. All three species of orangutan are critically endangered. Image by Garry Lotulung for Mongabay. A fire burns at a palm oil plantation in Sungai Putri village, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan province, Indonesia, Aug. 19, 2026. Image by Garry Lotulung for Mongabay. Fires are an increasingly deadly threat to orangutans. The flames not only kill the animals but also destroy their homes, reduce their food and cut off the paths they use to move between groups. The scale of forest and land fires in West Kalimantan makes the impact clear: 48,536 hectares (119,935 acres) have burned in the province in 2026, an area around&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/scorched-sanctuaries-the-race-to-save-borneos-orangutans-from-fires/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/scorched-sanctuaries-the-race-to-save-borneos-orangutans-from-fires/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333592</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Six beluga deaths cast a shadow over rescue from Canada’s Marineland</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2026 10:04:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20160121/Credit-Shedd-Aquarium-Brenna-Hernandez-177-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333330</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Conservation, Dolphins, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Whales, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Six members of a pod of 30 belugas, a fifth of the whales that were transferred from a marine park in Canada to facilities in the U.S. and Spain as part of a massive rescue operation, have died in the last two months. They were transported to the facilities in July and August after languishing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Six members of a pod of 30 belugas, a fifth of the whales that were transferred from a marine park in Canada to facilities in the U.S. and Spain as part of a massive rescue operation, have died in the last two months. They were transported to the facilities in July and August after languishing for more than a year at the Marineland theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which closed to the public in 2025. These cetaceans were among the last to be held captive in Canada, after the country passed the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act in 2019. The law banned the keeping, breeding, and trading of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) for entertainment, affecting Marineland’s business model. After months of uncertainty over the animals’ future — including threats of euthanasia and an attempt to send them to an entertainment park in China — a consortium of aquariums under the U.S. Association of Zoos &amp; Aquariums (AZA) devised the plan to transfer the 30 Marineland belugas. Sixteen went to SeaWorld facilities in California and Texas, 10 to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, two to Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, and two to Oceanogràfic València in Spain, which also took in four bottlenose dolphins. A captive beluga at SeaWorld San Diego. Image by Steven Snodgrass via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). On Aug. 26, Shedd Aquarium announced that Peekachu, a 23-year-old female beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) who had arrived at the facility on Aug. 13 and was blind in one&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/six-beluga-deaths-cast-a-shadow-over-rescue-from-canadas-marineland/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333330</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Search for the ‘Asian unicorn’ faces an uncertain future amid funding losses</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 22:26:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20221404/b.-W.-Robichaud_WCSSaola-600-dpi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333377</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, In-situ Conservation, Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The search for the enigmatic creature often called the Asian unicorn is stumbling forward on a month-to-month basis, according to the Saola Foundation, which organizes the search. The group says it’s now frantically raising funds to keep the search for the saola in Laos going. &#8220;The team comes out of the forest each July for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The search for the enigmatic creature often called the Asian unicorn is stumbling forward on a month-to-month basis, according to the Saola Foundation, which organizes the search. The group says it’s now frantically raising funds to keep the search for the saola in Laos going. &#8220;The team comes out of the forest each July for the wet season. This year a sharp contraction in our funding meant we could not confirm they would go back in October,” said Lorraine Scotson, CEO of the Saola Foundation for Annamite Mountains Conservation. Funding for October has only just come through, largely thanks to donations from a number of zoos, but fundraising continues for future months. The saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) may well be the world’s most endangered large animal. The only member of its genus, the species is a tropical bovid that superficially resembles an antelope with its long, curved horns, thin face, and elegant facial markings. It’s believed to have remained this way largely unchanged for 15 million years. Found in the biodiverse Annamite Mountains, which straddle the border region of Laos, Vietnam, and a small portion of Cambodia, the saola was only discovered by scientists in 1992. Captive saola in Laos, 1996. Image by W. Robichaud/WCS. “Fewer than 50 are thought to remain, none are held in captivity, and the last confirmed record anywhere was a camera-trap photograph in 2013. Very few people have ever seen one alive,” Scotson said. Given this, the Saola Foundation launched a search in Laos for the Asian&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/search-for-the-asian-unicorn-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-losses/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333377</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Nepal, AI builds on local knowledge to help prevent tiger attacks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 08:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Praveen Kumar Yadav]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/20073636/AP21090541435051-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=333197</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Big Cats, Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Community Forests, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Culture, Education, Environment, Human-wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Monitoring, Software, Technology, Tigers, Top Predators, Traditional Knowledge, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Bhadai Tharu says he still remembers the day a tiger attacked him. It was around 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2004. The encounter left him blind in his left eye. More than two decades later, the 59-year-old doesn’t speak ill of the animal that attacked him. “When incidents, like the one I was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Bhadai Tharu says he still remembers the day a tiger attacked him. It was around 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2004. The encounter left him blind in his left eye. More than two decades later, the 59-year-old doesn’t speak ill of the animal that attacked him. “When incidents, like the one I was involved in, happen, people get angry,” says Tharu, who is now chair of the Gauri Community Forest on the fringes of Bardiya National Park, a global hotspot for the endangered big cats. “Tigers have their role in the ecosystem, and both people and tigers should coexist,” Tharu says. His perspective comes as Nepal&#8217;s tiger population reaches a record 429 individuals, with Bardiya alone hosting 112. To avoid human-tiger encounters such as the one Tharu experienced, researchers turned to a survival skill long practiced by local people: listening to the forest. And for a while, at least, it seemed to have worked. The pilot project, documented in a recently published study, tested an artificial intelligence-powered system that “listens” to alarm calls from chital deer (Axis axis) and maps areas where tigers (Panthera tigris) or leopards (Panthera pardus) may be present and that humans should avoid. A chital deer in Bardiya National Park. The pilot project tested an AI-powered system that “listens” to alarm calls from chital deer. Image by Sunuwargr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). A forest that speaks Long before researchers arrived with sensors and machine-learning models, Indigenous communities in Bardiya had already been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/in-nepal-ai-builds-on-local-knowledge-to-help-prevent-tiger-attacks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-333197</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Large animals are living carbon stores. Does that make saving them a climate solution?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Oct 2026 02:47:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/16155427/c.-Julie-Larsen-_6422_African-Elephants_KEN_03-09-14-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332957</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Sequestration, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Earth Science, Elephants, Environment, Forest Carbon, Global Environmental Crisis, Research, Science, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Great herds of elephants once crisscrossed Africa, and scientists have no doubt that they shaped the landscape, ecosystems and — as recent science has shown — the balance of carbon. Though it&#8217;s difficult to be certain of exact numbers, some scientists muse that over the past five centuries, humans have driven a loss of 98% [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Great herds of elephants once crisscrossed Africa, and scientists have no doubt that they shaped the landscape, ecosystems and — as recent science has shown — the balance of carbon. Though it&#8217;s difficult to be certain of exact numbers, some scientists muse that over the past five centuries, humans have driven a loss of 98% of the continent’s elephants. A more recent, often-cited figure from the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, put the continent&#8217;s elephant population at 1.3 million in the 1970s. Research since then has suggested that overall numbers of savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) have dropped by 70%, driven by hunting and habitat loss. Their forest cousins, Loxodonta cyclotis, have likely slid by 90%. As scientists have begun to uncover the interactions between carbon and big animals like elephants, there&#8217;s a been a push to &#8220;rewild&#8221; landscapes for the benefit of the climate. The ocean&#8217;s massive whales similarly offer that potential. As the largest animals that have ever existed on Earth, their bodies alone serve as substantial reservoirs that could keep climate-warming carbon out of the atmosphere over the course of the decades (or more) that they live. Other research has sketched out a whale pump: Whales’ nutrient-rich waste also supports phytoplankton, which absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide. Cetacean contributions to carbon sequestration continue even after they die, as their bodies sometimes sink to the ocean floor, where a range of deep-sea organisms feed on them, keeping that carbon out of the atmosphere. Centuries of hunting have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/large-animals-are-living-carbon-stores-does-that-make-saving-them-a-climate-solution/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332957</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As US states reduce recently restored wolf populations, here’s what we risk losing (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-us-states-cull-recently-restored-wolf-populations-heres-what-we-stand-to-lose-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-us-states-cull-recently-restored-wolf-populations-heres-what-we-stand-to-lose-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2026 15:47:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jim and Jamie Dutcher]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/16145555/wolf-howl-c-Jim-and-Jamie-Dutcher-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332799</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[North America and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Canids, Commentary, Ecosystems, Environment, Ethics, Hunting, Mammals, Wildlife, and Wolves]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For centuries, wolves have been cast as vicious, bloodthirsty creatures of nightmares and fairy tales, rather than as deeply social animals with an important place in nature. We wanted to understand the animal behind those stories. So, in the 1990s, we spent six years living alongside a pack of gray wolves (Canis lupus) on the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For centuries, wolves have been cast as vicious, bloodthirsty creatures of nightmares and fairy tales, rather than as deeply social animals with an important place in nature. We wanted to understand the animal behind those stories. So, in the 1990s, we spent six years living alongside a pack of gray wolves (Canis lupus) on the edge of Idaho’s Sawtooth Wilderness. In a remote mountain setting, we camped among wolves, listened to them, filmed them, and slowly became part of their world. What we came to know was an animal very different from the one humans have been taught to fear. We witnessed wolves raise their pups, care for their injured, and mourn their dead. When a mountain lion killed a member of the pack, we saw how the loss affected the wolves for more than six weeks. Above all, we learned that a wolf pack is an extended family devoted to one another by relationships, experience, and knowledge passed from one generation to the next. The Dutchers’ camp was surrounded by chain-link fence, not to protect them from the wolves, but to protect their gear from the animals’ insatiable curiosity. Image © Jim and Jamie Dutcher. That understanding shapes how we see what is happening to wolves across the American West today. After decades of effort and revenue spent to restore gray wolves to a fraction of their former range, U.S. states are now pursuing aggressive policies to radically reduce their numbers once again. In Idaho, legislation enacted in 2021&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/as-us-states-cull-recently-restored-wolf-populations-heres-what-we-stand-to-lose-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332799</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Saving big cats: Storytelling duo Steve Winter &#038; Sharon Guynup publish new book</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/saving-big-cats-storytelling-duo-steve-winter-sharon-guynup-publish-new-book/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/saving-big-cats-storytelling-duo-steve-winter-sharon-guynup-publish-new-book/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2026 15:13:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gloria Dickie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/16135236/6-BANNER-IMAGE-Hollywood-Cougar-Grey-Large-copy-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332838</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Books, Cats, Culture, Environment, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mammals, Media, Photos, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For more than two decades, National Geographic photographer Steve Winter and environmental journalist Sharon Guynup have followed big cats into some of Earth’s wildest, most dangerous places. Their work has taken them from the jungles of India and Brazil to the high Himalaya, from Southeast Asia’s forests to the African savanna and the urban wilds [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For more than two decades, National Geographic photographer Steve Winter and environmental journalist Sharon Guynup have followed big cats into some of Earth’s wildest, most dangerous places. Their work has taken them from the jungles of India and Brazil to the high Himalaya, from Southeast Asia’s forests to the African savanna and the urban wilds of Los Angeles, documenting the world’s big cats and the ways humans are succeeding or failing in living alongside them. Winter’s iconic photos of tigers, jaguars, snow leopards, cougars and lions have earned some of the field’s highest honors, including Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He is also known for his innovative use of remote camera traps, which has allowed him to capture intimate glimpses of animals that are extraordinarily difficult to observe in the wild. A young male Bengal tiger trips a camera trap in India’s Kaziranga National Park. Image © Steve Winter/Big Cat Voices. Guynup, an award-winning environmental journalist, and now, Mongabay’s global wildlife editor, has penned prolific reporting on numerous topics. She’s especially known for her coverage of big cat conservation, exposés on wildlife trafficking, documenting the creation of wildlife corridors, and alerting the world to the threats posed by zoonotic diseases. The two have been partners in life and work for 37 years (they married just last year), and together have produced investigations delivering real change. Their reporting on captive tigers in the U.S., for example, (featuring Steve’s photos and Sharon’s prose), revealed abuse and wildlife trafficking, contributing to the passage of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/saving-big-cats-storytelling-duo-steve-winter-sharon-guynup-publish-new-book/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332838</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Perpetuating stupidity’: Indonesia comes under fire for response to burning and haze</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/perpetuating-stupidity-indonesia-comes-under-fire-for-response-to-burning-and-haze/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/perpetuating-stupidity-indonesia-comes-under-fire-for-response-to-burning-and-haze/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2026 06:57:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/17023326/Karhutla-Kalteng-1-Ini-1200x800-1-2-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332817</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Disasters, Ecosystems, Extreme Weather, Fires, Forest Loss, Great Apes, Habitat Loss, Mammals, One Health, Orangutans, Peatlands, Planetary Health, Primates, Public Health, Rainforests, Tropical Forests, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia is facing growing criticism over its response to a forest and land fire crisis that has sent choking haze billowing into neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, but officials insist the government is not to blame. The president has claimed that a drawdown in firefighting efforts means the number of fires has gone down, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia is facing growing criticism over its response to a forest and land fire crisis that has sent choking haze billowing into neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, but officials insist the government is not to blame. The president has claimed that a drawdown in firefighting efforts means the number of fires has gone down, while one of his spokespersons trotted out a familiar rebuke that neighboring countries should be grateful for the oxygen they get from Indonesia’s forests and not complain only when they get “sent smoke.” Meanwhile, Malaysia said it was still awaiting a response to its offer of assistance fighting the fires, while Singapore raised the prospect of taking legal action against any Singapore-linked companies behind the burning. Indonesian officials have acknowledged the fires’ effects on neighboring countries, but as of Oct. 16 had issued no public apology for the haze that pushed Kuala Lumpur and Singapore into the ranks of the most polluted cities in the world. Haze from Indonesia’s wildfires obscures the sun in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sept. 15, 2026. Image courtesy of Estelle Ng. Instead, Syahganda Nainggolan, head of the government communications office, said Malaysia and Singapore should see the problem as being “beyond human error” and “truly nature.” “We do not just send smoke; when there is no smoke, we send oxygen,” he said, echoing remarks made by previous administrations during similar fire crises. The statement drew criticism in Malaysia, where Andrew Chen Kah Eng, a politician from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/perpetuating-stupidity-indonesia-comes-under-fire-for-response-to-burning-and-haze/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/perpetuating-stupidity-indonesia-comes-under-fire-for-response-to-burning-and-haze/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332817</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodia was told to clean up its monkey trade. Regulators say it still hasn’t</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/cambodia-was-told-to-clean-up-its-monkey-trade-regulators-say-it-still-hasnt/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/cambodia-was-told-to-clean-up-its-monkey-trade-regulators-say-it-still-hasnt/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Oct 2026 06:53:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/18065718/Battambang-LTMs-2020-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332680</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Governance, Habitat Loss, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Medicine, Monkeys, Poaching, Primates, Research, Science, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Global wildlife trade authorities say Cambodia has made little progress in cleaning up its monkey export industry, a year after the country was flagged as needing major reforms in how it manages the capture, breeding, and export of monkeys used in biomedical research. In November 2025, following years of controversies, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Global wildlife trade authorities say Cambodia has made little progress in cleaning up its monkey export industry, a year after the country was flagged as needing major reforms in how it manages the capture, breeding, and export of monkeys used in biomedical research. In November 2025, following years of controversies, the secretariat of CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, issued a series of recommendations to Cambodia. In a document released Oct. 5, CITES stated that limited improvements to Cambodia’s monkey farm governance mean it “cannot confirm or rule out the occurrence of fraud or corruption” in the country’s trade of long-tailed macaques, a species listed as endangered. The statement comes ahead of the Nov. 2-6 CITES Standing Committee meeting in Geneva, where parties to the convention will assess progress made by countries placed under review. Countries unable to meet CITES standards can face trade bans. Monkey poaching has reportedly declined in Cambodia as the populations and habitats of long-tailed macaques are believed to have declined in recent years. Images supplied by source. Cambodia has faced widespread condemnation since a five-year United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) investigation found substantial evidence of Cambodian monkey farms laundering wild-caught monkeys as captive-bred. This, experts have warned, heightens the risk of zoonotic disease spillover — the transmission of pathogens from wildlife to humans — while also posing a threat to Cambodia’s wild population of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), which dropped between 50% and 70% in the last three decades.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/cambodia-was-told-to-clean-up-its-monkey-trade-regulators-say-it-still-hasnt/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/cambodia-was-told-to-clean-up-its-monkey-trade-regulators-say-it-still-hasnt/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332680</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chinese social media used to promote illegal wildlife trade in Laos</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/chinese-social-media-used-to-promote-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-laos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/chinese-social-media-used-to-promote-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-laos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2026 23:12:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/14225509/pangolin-hands-banner_6176-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332530</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, East Asia, Laos, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Crime, Governance, Mammals, Pangolins, Social Media, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“The wet markets in Laos are like wildlife parks; however, while you can only look at the animals in our zoos back in China, the wild animals in Lao markets can be eaten.” So proclaimed a Chinese vlogger as he toured a wildlife market. As he explored, he filmed himself showing off bear paws, various [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“The wet markets in Laos are like wildlife parks; however, while you can only look at the animals in our zoos back in China, the wild animals in Lao markets can be eaten.” So proclaimed a Chinese vlogger as he toured a wildlife market. As he explored, he filmed himself showing off bear paws, various birds, dried rats, monitor lizards, and a live pangolin in his hands. The Chinese Embassy in Laos has issued repeated warnings to citizens that “Lao law prohibits the sale of ivory, rhinoceros horns, pangolins, and other wildlife products. Violators will be punished by law.” But vloggers continue to imply, incorrectly, that such sales are legal. “Brothers, look at what this is. This is not a zoo, but a wet market in Laos. The owner just weighed it and said it&#8217;s 3.3 kilograms for 1,200 Chinese yuan [about $54 per kilo or $24.60 per pound]. Back in China, let alone 3.3 kilograms, even for a single scale, you would have to go to jail,” he added, referring to the pangolin. Videos like this are easily found on Chinese social media platforms — WeChat Channels (known as Weixin Channels in mainland China), Douyin, and Xiaohongshu — using Chinese search terms like 老挝穿山甲 (Laowo chuanshanjia or Lao pangolin); 老挝野味 (laowo yewei or Lao wild game); and 老挝熊掌 (Laowo xiongzhang or Lao bear paw). With the opening of the China-Laos Railway in 2021 and the lifting of China&#8217;s pandemic lockdowns in early 2023, Laos has become a top choice&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/chinese-social-media-used-to-promote-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-laos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/chinese-social-media-used-to-promote-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-laos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332530</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Researchers uncover hidden routes and patterns of Amazon wildlife trade</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/researchers-uncover-hidden-routes-and-patterns-of-amazon-wildlife-trade/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/researchers-uncover-hidden-routes-and-patterns-of-amazon-wildlife-trade/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2026 17:36:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/14163904/Podocnemis-unifilis_tracaja_Valdemir-Cunha-_-Greenpeace-1-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332625</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Global, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Birds, Business, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Fish, Governance, Illegal Logging, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Pet Trade, Pets, Reptiles, Research, Trade, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rare fish and turtles sell for pennies at home, fetching fortunes in distant global markets.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Home of the world&#8217;s largest biodiversity, the Brazilian Amazon is one of the main hubs for international wildlife trafficking. Every day, thousands of animals are taken from the rainforest to be sold in other parts of the country and abroad. Despite its key role in this illegal market, there is still a lack of information about wildlife trafficking in the region. ​ Data on animal seizures is scattered at the municipal, state and federal levels. The lack of an integrated system, along with the region&#8217;s vast territories and porous international borders, makes it difficult to get a full picture of wildlife trafficking in the rainforest. ​ “Every river you travel on in the Amazon will have traffic incidents,” conservation intelligence specialist Antônio de Carvalho, from the conservation NGO WCS Brazil, told Mongabay in a phone interview. ​ WCS Brazil is currently working on a Global Wildlife Trafficking Observatory, which will rely on artificial intelligence to gather information about wildlife trafficking from news websites and academic researchers. The goal is to support the work of investigators, environmental agents and journalists. ​ “A lot of data on seizures is lost because the seizure is simply carried out and the animals are released right there on the spot, and that doesn’t even make it into official statistics,” Carvalho said. The zebra pleco (Hypancistrus zebra) lives only in a small stretch of the Xingu River, in Pará, and is highly coveted as an ornamental fish. Image courtesy of Birger A. In another attempt to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/researchers-uncover-hidden-routes-and-patterns-of-amazon-wildlife-trade/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/researchers-uncover-hidden-routes-and-patterns-of-amazon-wildlife-trade/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332625</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Eavesdropping on Malaysia’s dolphins: Interview with marine bioacoustician Saliza Bono</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/eavesdropping-on-malaysias-dolphins-interview-with-marine-bioacoustician-saliza-bono/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/eavesdropping-on-malaysias-dolphins-interview-with-marine-bioacoustician-saliza-bono/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2026 12:28:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashley Yeong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Yenni Kwok]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/14115427/Saliza4-IndoPacificHumpback-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332551</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bioacoustics, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Dolphins, Ecosystems, Environment, Fellows, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Monitoring, Oceans, Research, Whales, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s coastal waters are home to 27 species of marine mammals. These include protected species like the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis), Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris), Indo-Pacific finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides), dugongs (Dugong dugon) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus). But few Malaysians know about these sea animals, and even fewer are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s coastal waters are home to 27 species of marine mammals. These include protected species like the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis), Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris), Indo-Pacific finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides), dugongs (Dugong dugon) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus). But few Malaysians know about these sea animals, and even fewer are aware that there is a scientist who studies the vocal communications of these aquatic mammals. Meet Saliza Bono, the bioacoustics officer at MareCet, the country’s only NGO dedicated to research and conservation of marine mammals. Saliza, 32, who also leads the NGO’s Langkawi Dolphin Research Project, studies marine mammal sounds, as she believes learning about these animals is the first step toward saving them. Her research focuses on the impacts of underwater noise, particularly on Indo-Pacific humpback and Irrawaddy dolphins in Malaysia. Saliza Bono is a bioacoustician at Malaysia’s only marine mammal conservation organization, MareCet. Image courtesy of MareCet. In an interview with Mongabay via video call, the marine biologist discusses her journey into bioacoustics, how underwater noise pollution impacts dolphin behavior and the challenges of her research. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Mongabay: How did you get interested in becoming a bioacoustician? Saliza Bono: I think I saw my very first dolphin when I was in Australia. As a 10-year-old, I was amazed at how these are mammals. They have lungs like us but live underwater. I was so curious, and I wanted to know more. Then I heard the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/eavesdropping-on-malaysias-dolphins-interview-with-marine-bioacoustician-saliza-bono/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332551</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Two rare pregnancies spark hope for Sumatran rhinos — but also concerns about inbreeding</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/two-rare-pregnancies-spark-hope-for-sumatran-rhinos-but-also-concerns-about-inbreeding/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/two-rare-pregnancies-spark-hope-for-sumatran-rhinos-but-also-concerns-about-inbreeding/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2026 04:39:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/05/01213423/Ratu-and-baby-Sumatran-rhino-514x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332545</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Lampung, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Captive Breeding, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, In-situ Conservation, Mammals, Megafauna, Rhinos, Saving Species From Extinction, Sumatran Rhino, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two critically endangered Sumatran rhinos are pregnant at an Indonesian sanctuary, a rare success for a species reduced to a few dozen animals in the wild. The pregnancies also highlight the genetic constraints facing the country’s captive-breeding program. Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry and the NGO Yayasan Badak Indonesia (YABI), which manages the sanctuary, announced the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two critically endangered Sumatran rhinos are pregnant at an Indonesian sanctuary, a rare success for a species reduced to a few dozen animals in the wild. The pregnancies also highlight the genetic constraints facing the country’s captive-breeding program. Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry and the NGO Yayasan Badak Indonesia (YABI), which manages the sanctuary, announced the pregnancies on Oct. 3. A female named Ratu is carrying her fourth calf, fathered by Andalas, while her daughter Delilah is carrying her second calf, fathered by Harapan. Both are due around May 2027. Ratu was captured from the wild in Sumatra in 2005, while Andalas and Harapan, who are full brothers, were born at Cincinnati Zoo in the U.S. in 2001 and 2007, respectively. Delilah was born to Ratu and Andalas at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in 2016 — meaning the father of Delilah’s calf is her paternal uncle. Experts at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary seek to pair the least-related males and females possible, Nina Fascione, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation, told Mongabay in an email. They also must consider factors such as differences in body size, she said, but their choices are limited by the small number of rhinos under human care. The 11 animals in Indonesia’s breeding program are the only captive Sumatran rhinos in the world, and all of the males in the program are related. “The current critical situation outweighs the genetic diversity considerations,” Fascione said. Ratu, a captive female Sumatran rhino, is expecting her fourth calf. Image&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/two-rare-pregnancies-spark-hope-for-sumatran-rhinos-but-also-concerns-about-inbreeding/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/two-rare-pregnancies-spark-hope-for-sumatran-rhinos-but-also-concerns-about-inbreeding/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332545</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘A hard reset’: Cape Town to capture and relocate baboon troops</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-hard-reset-cape-town-to-capture-and-relocate-baboon-troops/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-hard-reset-cape-town-to-capture-and-relocate-baboon-troops/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Oct 2026 11:33:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barry Christianson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/13102332/BANNER-22_troops_and_tropes_mb_bc_DSC3085-CROP-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332319</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Primates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A steady stream of chacma baboons flows down the walking path in the beautiful wooded ravine that leads up to Admiral’s Kloof, on the slopes of Table Mountain National Park. The score of baboons (Papio ursinus) descending the ravine — half of the 44-strong Waterfall troop — are on their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A steady stream of chacma baboons flows down the walking path in the beautiful wooded ravine that leads up to Admiral’s Kloof, on the slopes of Table Mountain National Park. The score of baboons (Papio ursinus) descending the ravine — half of the 44-strong Waterfall troop — are on their way to raid the naval barracks at the bottom, in the affluent suburb of Simon’s Town. A baboon monitor with a paintball gun slung over his shoulder stands and watches as a car marked “Shark Spotters”, the name of the NGO responsible for the monitors, pulls up to transport three of his colleagues to try and head them off. On this particular June morning, the effort is futile. The sound of the monitors’ paintball guns and the screeching of juvenile baboons fighting over choice morsels fills the air for 45 minutes, while the agile primates scale trees and buildings, and grab what looks like a bag of cereal from an unattended kitchen on the base. While the monitors manage to get some of the baboons out of the barracks, others move toward the surrounding suburb. Simon’s Town, the harbour, and the red brick walls of the Waterfall Barracks as seen from Admiral’s Kloof. Image by Barry Christianson for Mongabay. A WhatsApp group set up by the Cape Baboon Partnership to alert residents about the whereabouts of the troop, recorded 25 such raids between June 11 and July 11. Cape Town city officials are ready to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-hard-reset-cape-town-to-capture-and-relocate-baboon-troops/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-hard-reset-cape-town-to-capture-and-relocate-baboon-troops/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332319</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sri Lanka elephant found with a gunshot wound. How can tuskers be protected?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-elephant-found-with-a-gunshot-wound-how-can-tuskers-be-protected/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-elephant-found-with-a-gunshot-wound-how-can-tuskers-be-protected/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 16:39:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09151713/1.-the-tusker-Kavanthissa-in-middle-with-Chandi-left-and-Raghu-right-c-Pathum-Bandara--768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332143</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South Asia and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation Solutions, Controversial, Elephants, Endangered Species, flagship species, Habitat, Human-wildlife Conflict, Ivory, Mammals, Solutions, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Wildlife Rescues]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO –- Wildlife enthusiast Pathum Bandara watched Kavantissa, believed to be Sri Lanka’s tallest living tusker, moving gently through the landscape on Sept. 20 around Galgamuwa in the island’s northwestern dry zone, a well-known human-elephant conflict zone. The following day, Bandara noticed that the elephant was limping. A closer look revealed a gunshot wound on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO –- Wildlife enthusiast Pathum Bandara watched Kavantissa, believed to be Sri Lanka’s tallest living tusker, moving gently through the landscape on Sept. 20 around Galgamuwa in the island’s northwestern dry zone, a well-known human-elephant conflict zone. The following day, Bandara noticed that the elephant was limping. A closer look revealed a gunshot wound on his right foreleg, close to the knee. The discovery was alarming because an untreated gunshot wound could become infected and cause severe trauma, potentially threatening an elephant’s ability to walk, feed and survive. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) dispatched a team to treat the elephant. DWC’s veterinary surgeon Isuru Hewakottage said Kavantissa was sedated to enable the cleaning and treatment of the wound. He received several rounds of powerful antibiotics and remains under observation. Following treatment, Kavantissa has begun moving between small forest patches, sometimes crossing human settlements and the well-known elephant passage near Galgamuwa. The tusker appeared to be recovering but became aggressive after the gunshot injury, sometimes even chasing villagers and wildlife officers, exposing the tusker to renewed threats including the possibility of being fired at, Bandara told Mongabay. Iconic tusker Kavantissa, left, with Sankha, a young elephant, photographed in 2022. Sankha had a mobility restriction caused by a previous gunshot injury and died after falling into a pit. Image courtesy of Pathum Bandara. Bandara recalls the plight of another young tusker once closely associated with Kavantissa. Sankha, a young tusker, was about half Kavantissa’s age and was often seen together during&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/sri-lanka-elephant-found-with-a-gunshot-wound-how-can-tuskers-be-protected/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332143</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A lifetime studying and advocating for cetaceans: Interview with Paul Spong</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-lifetime-studying-and-advocating-for-cetaceans-interview-with-paul-spong/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-lifetime-studying-and-advocating-for-cetaceans-interview-with-paul-spong/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2026 12:38:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/09115106/IMG_8954-1280x893-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=332052</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Canada]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cetaceans, Mammals, Marine Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Paul Spong’s life has been entwined with whales for nearly six decades. In the 1960s, Spong, who hails from Aotearoa New Zealand, moved to the U.S. to study physiological psychology at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Then, in 1967, he entered the world of cetaceans when the Vancouver Aquarium [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Paul Spong’s life has been entwined with whales for nearly six decades. In the 1960s, Spong, who hails from Aotearoa New Zealand, moved to the U.S. to study physiological psychology at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Then, in 1967, he entered the world of cetaceans when the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada hired him to study the behavior of a once-wild orca (Orcinus orca) named Skana, who’d been captured from Puget Sound that same year. While conducting behavioral, visual and auditory experiments on Skana, Spong quickly noticed the orca’s high intelligence and self-awareness, and advocated for her release. But the aquarium, which didn’t renew Spong’s contract, held onto Skana until her death in 1980. After his experience with Skana, Spong decided to investigate orcas in their natural habitat. In 1970, he landed on Hanson Island, off the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada, with a tent and hydrophone, intending to study the local whales over the Northern Hemisphere summer. But his project stretched out longer than a single season, and by the late 1970s, Spong had founded a permanent research facility on Hanson Island, known today as the OrcaLab. Spong and his wife, whale researcher Helena Symonds, now serve as co-directors of the organization. Northern resident orcas near Hanson Island in British Columbia. Image courtesy of OrcaLab. Spong and Symonds made a conscious decision to take a hands-off approach, only observing the orcas using land-based hydrophones and cameras, rather than tracking them&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-lifetime-studying-and-advocating-for-cetaceans-interview-with-paul-spong/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-332052</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Did two of the lemurs stolen in Bangladesh end up in India? Officials are investigating</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2026 14:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sadiqur Rahman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/08141934/ring-tailed-lemurs-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331951</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, Lemurs, Primates, Wildlife, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The case of three ring-tailed lemurs, an endangered species, stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in Bangladesh last year resurfaced on social media in September this year, when news spread that two of the lemurs were trafficked to India and later sheltered at a private wildlife conservation facility, Vantara. The viral news prompted Vantara to release [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The case of three ring-tailed lemurs, an endangered species, stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in Bangladesh last year resurfaced on social media in September this year, when news spread that two of the lemurs were trafficked to India and later sheltered at a private wildlife conservation facility, Vantara. The viral news prompted Vantara to release a statement, denying the allegations while assuring cooperation in sharing the DNA profile of the ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) currently in its custody with Bangladesh authorities. However, the Bangladesh Forest Department was unprepared to respond to the call immediately, as it had no prior DNA profiling record of the lemurs stolen from Gazipur. Sufi Ullah, special superintendent of police under the Criminal Investigation Department of Bangladesh Police, the investigation agency, told Mongabay on Sept. 13, “Even though Bangladesh court orders further probe following the availability of the DNA profile, cross-border investigation is impossible.” Forest Department officials said that tracing the last destination is challenging and bringing the lemurs back is uncertain, as there is no repatriation protocol under the existing mutual understanding between Bangladesh and India. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, director at Bangladesh Forest Department’s Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU), said, “Further investigation and repatriation [of the lemurs] may follow only if the governments of the two countries agree to do so.” Meanwhile, South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network Secretary General Krishna Prasad Acharya, in an email to Mongabay, said that the exchange of information can assist the concerned countries in verifying available information, coordinating follow-up, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/did-two-of-the-lemurs-stolen-in-bangladesh-end-up-in-india-officials-are-investigating/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331951</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘A few are afraid of the chicks’: Preparing Thailand’s rescued leopard cats for life in the wild</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 17:30:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Norman Bermúdez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/07165523/leopard-cat-release-25-of-26-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331841</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Cats, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Cute, Environment, Governance, Habitat, Mammals, Research, Science, Small Cats, Wildlife, and Wildlife Rehabilitation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KHON KAEN, Thailand &#8211; A wildlife officer holds a leopard cat cub in one hand, its entire body small enough for her fingers to wrap around its torso. With the other hand, she feeds it formula milk from a syringe. This is the latest rescue at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s rescue center [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KHON KAEN, Thailand &#8211; A wildlife officer holds a leopard cat cub in one hand, its entire body small enough for her fingers to wrap around its torso. With the other hand, she feeds it formula milk from a syringe. This is the latest rescue at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s rescue center in Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand, which rehabilitates and ultimately releases dozens of lost and injured leopard cat cubs every year. Behind the officer, 15 larger leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), rescued as young cubs months earlier, pace around inside their cages. They look a lot like domestic cats, only slightly more slender and with sharply defined markings on their fur; unlike domestic cats, they bare their teeth and growl whenever a human walks past. Nine of the cats, between 8 and 9 months old, will be released in the forest that afternoon. The other six, a younger cohort, will take their place in the center’s specialized behavioral rehabilitation pens, where they will spend two months practicing their climbing and hunting skills in preparation for life in the wild. Leopard cats are small wild felines common across much of Asia. The IUCN classes them as least concern, though experts believe populations are increasingly vulnerable to hunting and habitat loss. Highly adaptable to changing landscapes, leopard cats often live close to farms and villages. In northeastern Thailand, females are frequently found raising their litters in sugarcane fields. The tall leaves offer shelter from the sun, but proximity to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/a-few-are-afraid-of-the-chicks-preparing-thailands-rescued-leopard-cats-for-life-in-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331841</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Invading the globe: Bird flu now threatens Australia and Oceania</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invading-the-globe-bird-flu-now-threatens-australia-and-oceania/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invading-the-globe-bird-flu-now-threatens-australia-and-oceania/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2026 17:02:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christine Heinrichs]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/10/02172718/Australian-Sea-Lion-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=331586</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia, Europe, Global, Latin America, Oceania, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Marine Animals, Marine Mammals, Research, Science, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Like a dark cloud of pestilence spreading across the globe in a science fiction movie, a highly contagious, fatal strain of avian influenza is continuing its death march across the globe, infecting wild birds, poultry, dairy cattle and mammals from pole-to-pole, sometimes with massive mortalities. In mid-June, it invaded the last bird flu-free continent, Australia, when [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Like a dark cloud of pestilence spreading across the globe in a science fiction movie, a highly contagious, fatal strain of avian influenza is continuing its death march across the globe, infecting wild birds, poultry, dairy cattle and mammals from pole-to-pole, sometimes with massive mortalities. In mid-June, it invaded the last bird flu-free continent, Australia, when the first cases of this lethal virus were detected in migratory seabirds, who likely brought it from the Antarctic to Australian islands, and then, inland. “These outbreaks mark the loss of the last continent previously free from the virus,” said Amandine Gamble, an expert on pathogens in endangered seabirds at Cornell University in the U.S., in a statement. “There are serious concerns for wildlife in Australia, New Zealand and surrounding islands, which are home to many already vulnerable endemic species.” The virus has spread rapidly since then, killing thousands of birds in some 690 “events” as of Oct. 6. An event may involve a confirmed infection or death of one — or many — animals. H5N1 has now spilled over into mammals, including endangered Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) at key breeding sites. Across the globe, species that live or breed in colonies have died in shocking numbers, and this virus continues to mutate and adapt, infecting new hosts. As of publication, it had infected some 613 types of bird and about 112 mammal species, both wild and domestic, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. “We have seen this virus&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/invading-the-globe-bird-flu-now-threatens-australia-and-oceania/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-331586</doi>				</item>
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